Ten-strong Team of cyclists from Dougall Baillie overcomes the Five Ferry challenge and raise £4500 for the Beatson Cancer Charity

Costa Clyde on a sunny Saturday was the setting for the Five Ferries Challenge, a 52-mile-long cycle ride undertaken by a team of East Kilbride-based engineers on behalf of the Beatson Cancer Charity.

The team, made up of ten cyclists and two support crew, from Dougall Baillie Associates, one of the largest independent engineering consultancy firms in Scotland, tackled the demanding uphill and down dale cycle on Saturday 11 May.

The challenge, which gets under way from Ardrossan, then takes the ferry to Brodick on Arran, then a ferry from Lochranza, Arran, to Clonaig in Kintyre, another ferry from Tarbert on Kintyre to Portavadie on the Cowal Peninsula, a fourth ferry from Colintraive on Cowal to the Isle of Bute, then a final ferry from Bute to Wemyss Bay and the nearest public house for a well-deserved refreshment.

Fergus Adams, Managing Director of Dougall Baillie Associates, said: “I didn’t realise there were quite so many hills on the route, but we supported each other all the way, made the most of our recovery times on the ferries and got back to Wemyss Bay pretty much on the timetable we set ourselves.

“And happily, all five ferries were running smoothly and dropped us off us where we needed to be when we needed to be there.

“It was great also to be able to undertake the challenge on a beautiful, sunny day since the team had been training throughout the late winter and early spring in some pretty appalling weather conditions.

“We’ve been training hard with a weekly cycle club taking place plus some extra regular weekend cycles also. The team also looked the part with our DBA-branded cycling tops.

“The upshot is that we have raised £4500 so far for one of Scotland’s most worthy charities and we would like to thank our many colleagues, clients, suppliers, families and friends who have contributed to this magnificent sum.”